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Murray's Abyssal Anglerfish
Melanocetus murrayi Günther, 1887
Above and below: A Murray's Abyssal Anglerfish from the Australian Museum Fish Collection (AMS I.22812-047). This fish was trawled at a depth of 800 m, 300 km north-west of Port Hedland, Western Australia, April 1982. View larger image. Photo: S. Reader © Australian Museum.
Murray's Abyssal Anglerfish is a soft-bodied fish that lacks scales and pelvic fins. It has a large head and mouth, with long pointed teeth. There is a short illicium with a bulbous esca on the snout. Live fish are black.
This species is sexually dimorphic. Females grow to 12 cm in length but males only grow to 2 cm.
Murray's Abyssal Anglerfish is a bathypelagic species that occurs worldwide in deep tropical and temperate waters.
In Australia this species has been collected from scattered localities off north-western Western Australia, but is almost certainly more widespread.
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Further reading
- Bertelsen, E., 1990. Melanocetidae. in Quero, J.C., Hureau, J.C., Karrer, C. Post, A. & L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. v-xxxii, 1-519.
- Bertelsen, E., & Pietsch, T.W. 1983. The Ceratioid Anglerfishes of Australia. Records of the Australian Museum. 35: 77-99.
- Paxton, J.R., D.F. Hoese, G.R. Allen & J.E. Hanley. 1989. Zoological Catalogue of Australia Vol.7 Pisces Petromyzontidae to Carangidae. Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Survey. Pp. i-xii, 1-665.
